Reflective Cover Letter Draft*

Cassie Lyne
English 11 A12
12/12/2009
Reflective Cover Letter


After much deciphering I finally decided on which four papers I would like to include in my portfolio. I deiced to use the most recent assignment on analyzing a trend, my proposal essay, my application essay, and my first essay for English 11 the This I Believe piece. I decided to use these papers in my portfolio because I feel they have the most potential, and can still be improved.

When I began to write my essay on analyzing a trend I became extremely discouraged because I felt that I couldn’t find a trend that was worthy enough to write about. After much research I decided upon my topic of the rising suicide rate of college students. The assignment asks to clearly state a thesis identifying the trend, to document through the use of statistics facts and expert opinion that the trend exists. It asks to analyze and discuss the causes and effects of the trend, and document those causes and effects through evidence, and logic. I was advised to discuss more of the effects of the trend, to stay focused throughout my paper, and to begin my paragraphs with my own topic sentences instead of a quote. Taking all of these suggestions into consideration I feel it was easier to improve my paper.

My proposal essay was also one that I had much trouble coming up with something to write about. I finally got to thinking about what has been affecting me and I came to the conclusion of writing about credit card debt because it is a growing problem for me. This assignment asks for a statement of the important problem, context and background, a possible solution, and an analysis of the costs and benefits, also an in-text citation of sourced used and a listing of those sources. It was suggested to me to try to identify the reader right away, fix punctuation and the use on my citations in MLA style. I have attempted to meet all of these expectations and more. I believe I have improved my paper in all of the ways suggested to me.

My application essay came easy to me considering I picked a passage asking me to write a narrative basically on my life. The assignment asked to consider your purpose, and audience, to give evidence that you understand the prompt, to focus the essay on the addressed topic, to be persuasive, develop ideas sufficiently, and to try and capture the reader’s interest. It was suggested to me to simply fix my punctuation in this piece, and possibly to be more creative. I have gone on to fix all of my punctuation, and tried to add more creativity to this piece before placing it in my portfolio.

The final piece I have chosen to add to my portfolio is my first essay. I choose the piece simply because it was my first essay and I believe with what I have learned so far from this course I have put into improving this essay. The assignment for this essay asks to tell a story about your belief, be brief in you explanation, to be positive, and be personal. It was suggested to me to possibly explain more of my belief or more clearly. Throughout all of the suggestions thrown my way throughout the semester I feel confident to present my portfolio with the following piece that I feel I a presenting to the best of my ability.